Monday, December 1, 2008

Please save the dates! The Center for Self-Determination announced that the 2nd Annual International Conference on Self-Determination will be held May 3-5, 2009 at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC. For more information, go to: http://www.self-determination.com/index.php/New-Events/

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Social Skills Games for Children by Deborah M. Plummer is a handbook designed to promote successful social strategies for children aged 5 to 12. This book helps adults with understanding and encouragement of children's social skills and also includes a wide variety of activities for different sized groups.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Home Visitor's Guidebook: Promoting Optimal Parent & Child Development by Carol Klass just came out with its 3rd edition and is the ultimate professional development resource for early interventionists, social workers, and other practitioners who work directly with parents and children. This book contains updated material on assessment and evaluation, childhood illnesses, coping strategies for families, and much more.

Friday, November 14, 2008

We all need a little help now and then, and for educators in inclusive classrooms a little more help just arrived! A second edition of Brief References of Student Disabilities ...With Strategies for the Classroom has been published by Corwin Press. This updated reference provides information on common disabilities found in classrooms such as AD/HD, bipolar disorder, down syndrome, epilepsy and more! A brief description of each disability with common characteristics and background information is presented with a reading list, strategies for teachers, and organizations to contact for more information. In addition, the book provides readers with an overview of the laws concerning students with disabilities, a review of health disorders, and a list of children's book to help awareness and understanding. Indiana residents can contact us to check out this book, and others can go to worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Getting messy is not only fun, but it can be educational too! Fun with messy play: Ideas and activities for children with special needs by Tracey Beckerleg is chock full of activities that can help to improve coordination, communication skills, social skills and cognitive abilities, as well as your child's self confidence . These exercises highlight movement or sensation that kids will be able to apply to everyday life. The great part about messy play is that it encourages sensory responsiveness while having fun, without being stressful for kids. This is an excellent resource for parents and professionals. Interested in checking it out? Indiana residents can contact us at 800-437-7924. Not an Indiana resident? Find this book at a library near you!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Last week, Freedom Scientific released the latest version of its screen reader software, JAWS 10. This newest version of JAWS allows users access to iTunes 8, including support for the iTunes store, a big plus for music lovers! It also supports Microsoft Access 2007 for both braille and speech output, boasts better performance with Microsoft Outlook Calendar, and more!

Also from Freedom Scientific is a portable video magnifier called SAPPHIRE. This product contains a small camera and displays images on a brightly-lit 7" screen. SAPPHIRE can be used for reading lists in the grocery store, a menu at a restaurant, or even signing your name.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, affects people at this time of year as the seasons change from summer to fall and winter. Some people are affected only mildly but for others the change brings severe symptoms of irritability, fatigue, weight gain or depression. However, there are treatments that can help.

SAD has been linked to a biochemical imbalance in the brain, thought to be brought on by the shorter days and longer nights in fall and winter. Sometimes, treatment can be as simple as spending more time outdoors in the sunlight during the fall and winter months or arranging furniture in a way that provides direct sunlight while indoors. Light therapy has been beneficial to some people who experience symptoms of SAD, while others turn to psychotherapy or even medication for help.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Looking for information about buying an accessible vehicle? Car Talk did a feature on drivers with special needs and compiled a list of resources on all sorts of organizations and websites that are out there and willing to help.

They have sections on questions and answers for driving with mobility challenges and driving challenges for short, tall, and large drivers. They also list tons of resources on general information and adaptive technologies. They also have section where they have posted "remarkable stories about physically challenged drivers who have demonstrated incredible personal determination and in doing so, they have also pushed the limits of adaptive technologies."

This website was recommended to us by one of our faithful blog readers. If you have any recommendations for our blog feel free to contact us, or leave a comment with those suggestions!